OU football notebook: Sooners' names back on jerseys; McCoy sidelined

Published: April 8, 2007

Oklahoma will appear before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions in less than a week.

With a hearing scheduled Saturday in Indianapolis, Sooner coach Bob Stoops was asked after the annual Red-White spring game if he is confident about OU's status regarding the NCAA investigation into the football program.

"I think our position has been thorough and strong,” Stoops said, "and we'll go in there and do whatever we have to.”

•The name game: The names are back.

Maybe for good.

Oklahoma played last season without players' names on the backs of their jerseys, but Saturday, the Sooners' jerseys included their names. Stoops said he would probably keep them that way in the fall, too.

"Right now, the players wanted to,” he said. "I asked them ... can they remain unselfish about it and not worry about whose name's on the back and more about who's on the front?”

They assured the coach that they could.

"If they'll continue to act that way,” Stoops said, "maybe we'll keep ‘em that way.”

•Eldridge's diagnosis good: Tight end Brody Eldridge suffered what appeared to be a nasty knee injury during the second half.

After making a catch, his left foot planted as he was hit hard in the chest. It caused his knee to twist awkwardly, and he remained on the turf for several minutes.

A preliminary examination determined a low-grade sprain of the medial collateral ligament, offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson said.

"He's one of our unsung, special players who gives me a great deal of comfort,” he said. "I was up there beating the wall the whole time, saying, ‘C'mon, c'mon, c'mon.' He's my guy.”

Eldridge has also made quite a fan of Stoops, who referred to the sophomore reserve as his favorite player earlier this spring.

"I'm hoping Brody's OK,” Stoops said. "He's checking out good right now.” Wilson said, "I guess we'll know more in the next few days, but initially, I guess it wasn't as severe as it looked.”

•Injury update: Nose guard Gerald McCoy was a late scratch for the Red-White game.

The ballyhooed redshirt freshman has been practicing with pain in his calf muscle, but when he jumped over a lineman Thursday, he landed wrong on his leg.

"My calf muscle kind of stretched out a little bit, strained it a little bit,” McCoy said. "They said they were going to see what happened this morning. Then they said they were going to hold me out, just let me rest a little bit.”

Running back Mossis Madu (sprained ankle) and offensive lineman Phil Loadholt (sprained toe) were also sidelined.

McCoy said going down stairs was almost impossible, so running would've been difficult. Still, he wanted to play.

"I really did,” he said. "But I'd rather be cautious. It ain't like this is the fall.”

•Chilly crowd: Temperatures in the 40s and wind out of north kept down the Red-White crowd.

An announced crowd of 21,020 was the smallest since 2002. That spring, there was an estimated crowd of 20,000. In the three years since, the Sooners have drawn more than 30,000 each spring, including two crowds in excess of 40,000.

•Another chance to see Sooners? OU has two spring practices remaining and might open their final one Tuesday to the fans.

"We'll probably get after it for our team period, scrimmage again,” Stoops said. "May even open it up to the public to come watch it again.”

By Jenni Carlson